Crossing the Bronx is an historical literary novel set primarily in the 1950s in The Bronx. It is a modern retelling of the Jacob and Esau story from Genesis. The narrative that propels the story forward concerns the destruction of a neighborhood in the guise of progress. Jay and Eric, the sons of Ike (an Italian Jew), and Rebekeh, (a Mountain Jew), are estranged-as are their parents-and find themselves on opposite sides of a bitter struggle that pits those in power against the defenseless people of a local community.
Eric has aligned himself with his father Ike, who by day is a cop-and at other times works surreptitiously for a mobbed-up construction company engaged in major projects transforming New York City-while his younger brother Jay is allied with his mother and with a neighborhood group fighting to preserve its very soul. Their fractious relationship speaks to the issues of how families split apart, and whether or not the pieces can ever be put back together.
In addition to sustained tension-filled action, Crossing the Bronx is a story of romance, commitments, beliefs, and triumphs over adversities (lies, theft, murder, concealment, prejudice). Through vivid descriptions, perceptive insights, humor and sensitivity, the reader identifies with the characters who come to life in a realistic fashion to illustrate who we are, how we behave, and what causes us to change.
The novel is fast-paced, with uncompromising realism, reflecting the unrelenting tension between antagonists and the anxieties that overwhelm those without power. The underbelly of the criminal and political world is evidenced by brutality, rapaciousness, and a never-ending desire to seek retribution. A love story between Jay and his girlfriend Francesca counter-balances the grimness to show how some people can overcome the odds stacked against them by their birth and places of origin. Smart, savvy women (Francesca, Rebekah, Francesca's grandmother "Nonna Ebrea"-who thinks she is descended from Conversos-and Jay's therapist Dr. Leah Silverman) provide a strong counterbalance to the lies, thefts, beatings, concealments, murders, and prejudice evidenced by the men.
It is populated by colorful Italian, Irish, Black, Puerto Rican, and Jewish characters from a variety of different backgrounds; the novel sparkles with dialogue that is representative of their respective cultures.
The book can be read on three levels: (1) The story of what it was like to have lived through the Depression and World War II era, and into the one that emerged after 1945-a society that was being altered almost unknowingly into something that would turn out to be significantly different in terms of social activism and ethnic politics; (2) A metaphor for what is going on in cities today, in terms of the conflicts between 'ordinary people' and powerful politicians and business interests; and (3) How a Jewish family emerges from dysfunction to find its way despite daunting implacable obstacles in its way.
